Israel launched major air strikes on south Lebanon on Thursday after announcing the deaths of two reserve soldiers and severe injuries to four others in an explosion the day before.
At least one person was killed and 20 wounded in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Unifil, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, said Israel's military launched 113 projectiles on Wednesday – the highest recorded since June 21.
The Israeli military said the dead soldiers were Maj Harel Birenstock and Chief Master Sgt Tamir Vaknin. Israeli media reported they were killed when an explosive device detonated during operations in southern Lebanon.
Israel accused Hezbollah of a “blatant” breach of a ceasefire agreement as it began launching strikes on southern Lebanon on Wednesday, saying it was “compelled to act forcefully” against the group.
One person was killed and 12 others injured when an Israeli drone struck a prayer room near a cemetery in Tibnin on Wednesday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
At least four Israeli strikes – the first three by drone and the fourth with a fighter jet – hit a suburb of the port city of Tyre, injuring eight people, health officials said.
Israel also issued a forced displacement order for residents of Mansouri, near Tyre, instructing them to leave their homes and move at least 1km north. It was the first such order in weeks. Lebanese officials said Israeli attacks had already hit the area before the warning was issued.
Israel then proceeded to bombard Mansouri and nearby Majdal Zoun with artillery shells overnight, and hit the former again throughout Thursday.
The escalation came as Israeli and Lebanese delegations held US-mediated talks in Rome aimed at implementing a security arrangement agreed in June to ease border tensions.
A Lebanese political source said that even after seven rounds of negotiations over recent months, “Israel has not made a single meaningful concession on any of the outstanding issues.”
Lebanon has repeatedly lambasted Israel for military actions – including carrying out massive detonations near Lebanese soldiers and in villages – that have impeded the implementation of the deal.
The source said Israel also appeared unwilling to release Lebanese citizens detained by its military during operations in the south, who are believed to be a mixture of civilians and alleged Hezbollah fighters.
“Israel does not appear willing to make any breakthrough on the detainees file. There is a possibility that it will settle for allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the detainees, without releasing either the civilian hostages or the prisoners,” the source said.
“We presented [to the talks] the violations that have taken place since yesterday and continued until this morning,” said another Lebanese official of the morning talks, which resumed on Thursday despite the overnight violence.
The framework includes pilot zones where Israeli forces would gradually withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese army takes control and verifies Hezbollah’s disarmament. During the Rome talks, the Lebanese military contingent in the delegation presented their progress in the pilot zone areas so far.
Lebanon has also demanded that Israel halt attacks and demolitions in areas where its forces remain deployed.
A Hezbollah source said the group was not concerned with claiming or denying responsibility for the explosion that caused Israeli military casualties.
“The mere presence of the Israeli occupation in a Lebanese village is, in itself, a violation, and Israel bears responsibility for the consequences. We are not in the business of justifying any development involving the occupation,” they said.
A US State Department official said Wednesday’s talks ended early because of events on the ground, but added that discussions had made progress on implementing the “Trilateral Framework”.
The latest violence has raised concerns over the future of the ceasefire after months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forced more than one million people to flee their homes. The war resumed shortly after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in February, prompting Hezbollah to mobilise on Iran's behalf.
Lebanese and Israeli officials began US-mediated talks in April, with a trilateral agreement reached after the fifth round of negotiations in late June. The discussions later moved to Rome, where the latest escalation risks setting back progress.
